Supermarket/Grocery

Eataly is taking its Italian food marketplace format to Canada.   The company announced plans to open its first Canadian location in early 2019, as an anchor tenant of the newly renovated Manulife Centre in Toronto.   Eataly, which combines food markets, restaurants, and eateries, will span three stories for a total space of 50,000 sq. ft.  

Petco has named William Engen senior VP of retail market expansion, a newly created role dedicated to optimizing the company’s investments in store growth.    Engen, who joins Petco from Wingstop Restaurants, where he served as COO, will be in charge of real estate, construction, and store design. He previously served in senior operations roles at 7-Eleven and Circuit City.  

As more retailers announce their seasonal hiring plans, filling omnichannel-supporting roles will be a priority.  

Gone are the days when Black Friday signified the official launch of the holiday shopping season.    In fact, nearly half (49%) of shoppers will have a bulk of their holiday shopping done by Thanksgiving Day, according to a new survey from market intelligence solutions provider Market Track. And digital deals will be the catalyst.  

Amazon on Thursday announced that its Prime Now ultra-fast delivery service has added its first beauty store.    Prime members in Chicago can now order  beauty and personal care products from Merz Apothecary, a 100-years plus Chicago retail institution, and have the items delivered to their door in as little as one hour.  

Retail sales fell more than expected in August after a strong June and a relatively flat July.   The National Retail Federation said that retail sales, excluding automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, were down 0.3% over July. On a year-over-year basis, however, NRF calculates that retail sales increased 4.1%.    The slowdown in August was broad-based and, notably, there was a drop-off in non-store sales, NRF noted. Clothing sales increased 0.7% in August, driven by back-to-school shopping.

Walmart Canada is extending its ban on accepting Visa credit cards.   The discounter said it will stop accepting Visa credit cards at all 16 of its stores in Canada’s Manitoba province starting on Oct. 24.   

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about an article I read earlier this summer, a piece by Krystina Gustafson that appeared on cnbc.com entitled, “For retailers, closing stores isn't as easy as it once was.”